وَلَكِنَّ مَوْلَايَ امْرُؤٌ هُوَ خَانِقِي
عَلَى الشُّكْرِ وَالتَّسْآلِ أَوْ أَنَا مُفْتَدِي
Meaning: Yet my own protector is the one who constricts me, as though choking me; I must approach him through thanks, petitions, or attempts to redeem myself from the predicament.
Khāniqī derives from kh-n-q, “to strangle,” and depicts pressure in an intensified metaphorical form. Al-shukr wa-l-tasʾāl evoke gratitude and requests; muftadī suggests someone seeking release by a ransom or sacrifice. The verse brings the contrast between expected shelter and actual harm to its sharpest point.